1. Natural Gas vehicles are more environmentally friendly.  According to cleanenergyfuels.com, CNGs consistently receive some of the highest ranks for environmental performance.  As a matter of fact, the cleanest car available on the market in 2008 wasn’t a hybrid—it was the Honda GX, a CNG vehicle.   CNG burns much cleaner than gasoline and other alternative fuels, reducing tailpipe emissions by up to 95%.   While there are still some CO2s produced, that too is up to 30% less than regular gas.  While CNG might not be the alternative fuel that will solve our global warming problems, it is a good alternative right now—and certainly a step in the right direction until there are better options on the market.
2.  CNG is cheaper and also provides lower maintenance costs.  While gasoline is presently at  $2.20 per gallon, CNG is running around $1.85.  While that is not a huge difference it was about 50% less when gas prices were up over $4.  Natural Gas is also an American product that reduces our dependence on foreign oil. Plus, because natural gas burns so clean, there is far less wear and tear on a vehicle resulting in lower operating costs for years to come.
3. There are proven results with local vehicles.  Another role in our decision to go with CNG was the visual affirmation of watching dozens of local valley vehicles run successfully on this fuel.  Both our public transportation Sunline buses run on CNG as well as many of our local trash trucks through Burrtec Waste & Recycling Services.  If CNG can work so well for them, surely it would work well for a private vehicle.
4. CNG is relatively easy to obtain in our local area.  Because the Coachella Valley is home to a large number of CNG fueling stations it is a relatively easy to fill up our vehicle.  Presently, there are six public fueling stations scattered across the valley.  Another option is a home fueling station where we could plug in our car and draw off our home natural gas line.  The devise that allows us to do that is called a “Phill” and is approximately $4,000.  There are now rebates available that reduce that amount to about $2,000 but it is still a significant investment that we haven’t decided to make.

    We then contacted Matt and Justin Beerer from Greenline Fuel Corp in Temecula.  They had taken the CNG Training course and were excited to put their longtime mechanical abilities, along with their new conversion training, to work on an actual CNG Conversion.  While we were naturally cautious about their qualifications, their earnestness, enthusiasm and commitment helped us make the decision to use them and their company for our work.
         It took a little longer than expected but Matt and Justin assured us that they wanted to be certain that everything was done perfectly before returning the vehicle to us.  We wanted that too! In order to fit the tank into the vehicle, it was decided that we would replace the back seat with a seven-gallon CNG tank.  We also talked about how we would cover the tank and how we could best utilize the remaining space.
       It is important to note that our CNG conversion is not EPA approved.  There are conversion kits available that are EPA approved for a limited number of different vehicles and these kits actually replace the gasoline tanks and make the vehicle a single fuel CNG vehicle.  It is not legal to convert a vehicle to a single fuel CNG unless you use one of these approved kits.
        Instead, our jeep is a hybrid.  The entire gasoline system is still fully functional making the conversion legal.  Our conversion system adds a C

NG tank and allows us to flow seamlessly between the two types of fuel.  In other words, our jeep is now a CNG hybrid vehicle and we can use gasoline or CNG whenever we choose.   This is a big reason why we lost our back seat for an additional tank.  Others who put this type of conversion on their vehicle typically lose space in either their trunks or their truck beds.  Because our vehicle is a CNG Hybrid with a fully operational gas system, it passes the EPA smog tests just like any other vehicle.  That is actually a major reason why the EPA does not allow CNG single fuel conversion—even though Natural Gas runs very clean, it would alter acceptable smog testing results that could not be monitored in a assembly-line way.  Hence, the EPA only allows non-approved CNG conversions if you leave the regular gas tank and system in place.
   When we talk to others about the conversion something of great concern appears to be the safety.  Certainly, when the jeep was first returned to us and the CNG tank was clearly visible behind the front seat it did look a bit intimidating.  However, the tank used for CNG is made of polymers and composites that are stronger than steel and it must undergo rigorous testing.  On top of that, the tank must be re-inspected every three years to guarantee no damage.
    Natural gas itself is much safer than gasoline, propane or diesel for a number of reasons.  First, it has a limited range of flammability as opposed to other fuels keeping its ignition rate lower.  Next, it is lighter than air so if a leak does develop the gas would rise.  This compares to gasoline, diesel or propane which would sink to the ground and pool making it easy to ignite.  CNG also has a sulfur-like odorant added

torque, the jeep drives identically when in CNG or gasoline mode.
      How much does it cost?  It isn’t cheap.  The cost of our conversion was approximately $6,200.  I say approximately because we had some other custom work done to match our desires for the cover and new utility of the back seat area that would be variable to other customers.  Was it worth it?  We still believe we made the right choice.  Our 2003 jeep had about 30,000 miles on it and it was in excellent condition.  If we chose instead to buy another alternative fuel vehicle, it is likely that vehicle would have cost an addition $5,000 to $7,500 more than any traditional gas model, so the costs are comparable.  Where it is unfair and unequal is the fact that we do not get any rebates or tax credits for our conversion.  The only CNG conversions that qualify for tax credits are the full EPA approved conversion kits that are just about three times as expensive as what we paid. And remember, EPA approval is not required if you keep the regular gas tank in place and use the vehicle as a gas/CNG hybrid.
    Are we still glad we did it?  Yes, granted it has only been back in our hands for about two months and we have had to have Matt and Justin come to town to work out a few bugs.  Still, we feel we made a good decision.  Obviously, this was and is an experiment, but if people aren’t willing to try new things and explore options, how will progress ever be made?  We were tired of just talking about making a difference and reducing our dependence on foreign oil—we wanted to do something and at the same time make a statement—our CNG Conversion lets us do that with pride.  Is it for everyone?  Maybe not, but never forget that a small group of committed individuals can change the word, indeed it is the only thing that can.